How you helped Sally to stay in the job she adores

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How you helped Sally to stay in the job she adores

When Sally’s vision suddenly changed last year, it turned her life upside down.

She worried that the career she’d spent her life building – first as a paediatric nurse and now as a nursing lecturer – was about to come crashing down. She feared her loss of vision was about to steal it away.

Not knowing where to go or who to turn to, Sally began to experience anxiety. But, when she finally reached out to the Blind Foundation, she found the courage and support she needed to stay in the job she loves…support that’s only made possible by your kindness and generosity.

Thank you for your kind and generous support. It’s because of you that they can receive the practical and emotional support they need.

Sally started life as a premature baby – born with retinopathy and total blindness in one eye. Her vision has been up and down ever since. She later developed retina detachments, cataracts and glaucoma.

Even though Sally knew her vision may change after surgery last year, nothing had prepared Sally for the extent of change. She struggled with glare and closeup vision – the vision she needs to see her computer screen, to read and be able to do some of the main parts of her job. For example, to do close up work, mark student exam papers and read text books.

Sally had no words to describe the devastation she felt when she realised her close-up vision was gone and that it was threatening to take away the career she loves.

For her entire life, Sally had always been able to adapt to her changing sight. But this time, she couldn’t. She just didn’t know how:

“I had grieved as a child for my lost vision. But this time I was grieving for my job and aspirations for the future. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to pay my mortgage and I felt lost and without a direction when I realised my passion could be taken away from me…it was so hard.”

When Sally first contacted the Blind Foundation, she was extremely distressed. Meeting Katy, a Blind Foundation counsellor, changed everything:

“Katy told me that I had to look at my vision loss as a door opening, rather than a door closing…and focus on what was possible rather than what was impossible.”

Sally will always remember the joy she felt when she realised that her lost vision wouldn’t mean the end of her career. Blind Foundation specialists helped Sally to once again be able to do important parts of her job by using specialised equipment. Her workplace also understands and fully supports her needs.

And, for all the practical support that Sally received, it was the counselling that she truly valued. It helped her to feel positive and motivated to move forward in a career where she can support our future nursing workforce:

“Counselling helped me see what was possible and to get back to the person that I knew I was.”

Today, Sally says she is as happy as she has ever been. She has just celebrated seven and a half years as a lecturer and is doing her job with confidence. She also knows that the Blind Foundation is only a phone call away if she needs help.

Without you, New Zealanders like Sally could not receive the support they need to live their life with confidence and no limits.

Sally is so thankful to supporters like you and she will always carry thanks in her heart for your kindness and generosity. As do other New Zealanders, whose lives you have touched through your amazing support.